New Delhi: The India International Trade Fair (IITF) came to a close logging a business worth Rs1,000 crore, marked by heightened security in the face of a terror threat.

A total of 1.3 million visitors could make it to the 14-day IITF against 1.7 million last year as security concerns impacted the footfalls.

The Delhi Police had restricted the number of visitors to 100,000 per day. Coupled with security concerns, erosion in business confidence also impacted sales at the annual fair, which is thronged not only by Delhiites, but also from people in the National Capital Region.

“By all standards, we can say that the fair has been successful despite a financial meltdown and the difficult security scenario," India Trade Promotion Council (ITPO) Chairperson and Managing Director Sheela Bhide said.

While Pakistan was the partner country, its vendors reported slackness in business.

Pakistani national Shaheena, selling bridal wear and evening dresses in the range of Rs4,000-Rs9,000 for an outfit, said: “People feel, we are charging high. There are few customers also."

Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh, giving away awards to the best state and foreign pavilions, stressed the need to facilitate trade between India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, for which border infrastructure needs to be improvement.

“Dry fruits from Afghanistan and textiles from Pakistan did maximum business," Ramesh said.